No. 4 Virginia (20-2, 8-2) at No. 8 North Carolina (19-4, 9-1), 7 p.m. ESPN
The Cavaliers have no time to hang their heads after another tough loss to the Blue Devils because they have a tough road tilt tonight in Chapel Hill. Here's a look at streaking North Carolina, which has won seven straight games:
Scorers in double figures: Freshman guard Coby White (15.9), senior guard Cameron Johnson (15.8), senior forward Luke Maye (15.1), freshman forward Nassir Little (10.3)
Leading rebounders: Maye (9.7), sophomore forward Garrison Brooks (6), Johnson (5.5), Little (4.7), sophomore forward Sterling Manley (4.3)
Assist leaders: White (4.3), senior guard Kenny Williams (3.6)
Notable: Manley, who averages 4.4 points, has been out since late December with a sore knee, and it is unclear if he will return for this game, but probably not because he has not practiced and UNC's most recent game was Saturday, so this is a quick turnaround situation. Minus Manley, nine Tar Heels
average double-figure minutes. Williams, who is from Richmond, averages 9 points and 3.3 rebounds. Brooks scores 8.2 ppg. Johnson, Woods, White, and Williams all record one steal per game. Little averages 0.6 blocks.
Best win: No. 4 Gonzaga at home, 103-90, in December. The Bulldogs are No. 4 and 23-2 and haven't lost since. Gonzaga also owns a win over Duke.
Worst win: It took the Heels overtime to beat Miami, 88-85, at home Saturday.
Other wins: Wofford, Elon, Stanford, Tennessee Tech, St. Francis (Pa.), UCLA, UNC Wilmington, Louisville, Davidson, Harvard, Pittsburgh, N.C. State (twice), Notre Dame, Miami (first matchup), Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech
Best loss: vs. No. 19 Kentucky, 80-72, in Chicago in December
Worst loss: Texas, 92-89, in November in Las Vegas. The Longhorns are 14-10.
Other losses: Louisville, Michigan
What North Carolina does well: Score and shoot. UNC averages 88.3 ppg (second) and shoots 47.4 percent overall (50th), 37.3 percent from beyond the arc (48th), and 75 percent from the line (tied, 33rd). The Tar Heels also average 19.9 assists (third), have a 1.40 assist-turnover ratio (21st), and own a +10.4 rebounds per game margin (second). They also average 7.8 steals per game (tied, 42nd).
What North Carolina doesn't do well: Defense has been an issue at times. UNC is giving up 73.6 ppg (237th) and allowing opponents to shoot 41.8 percent from the field (77th) but 33.7 percent on 3-pointers (144th). Those numbers are still decent, but UNC turns the ball over too much, 14.2 times per game (260th).
UNC struggled a bit early in the year in losing to Texas and getting blown out by Michigan, although the Wolverines were undefeated at the time. The Heels also own a 21-point home loss to Louisville, but they haven't lost since and avenged that defeat by beating the Cardinals last week by 10 on the road. North Carolina also struggled in wins over Wofford, Notre Dame, and Miami (twice).
Virginia has had an easier time with UNC than Duke since the Cavaliers' rise to the top of the ACC. Dating to the breakout 2013-14 season for the 'Hoos, they're 6-3 against the Heels and have won three straight, including 71-62 in last season's ACC tournament championship. Coach Roy Williams just doesn't seem to have the formula down or the athletic stars to confound Tony Bennett quite like Mike
Kryzewski does.
A win over Duke would've been huge of course for Virginia, but even more so because of this tough turnaround. North Carolina played Saturday, too, so rest for the two teams is equal, but the Heels got to play against a much weaker opponent in Miami. The Wahoos probably expended a lot of energy in trying to rally against Duke. So now the specter of an 0-2 stretch against Tobacco Road opponents is a possibility. Virginia hasn't lost consecutive games since Feb. 18 and 20, 2017, at UNC and then vs. Miami. But UVa has had this same setup before: On Jan. 31 and Feb. 2, 2015, Virginia welcomed Duke for a "College GameDay" matchup and lost, 69-63. Two days later, Virginia traveled to Chapel Hill and beat No. 12 UNC, 75-64.
As I mentioned, UNC is shooting well on 3-pointers. Johnson, who at 6-foot-9 is tough to defend beyond the arc, leads the team in 3-point percentage at 47.2 percent. Woods is at 42.9 percent, White 38.8, Maye 33.7, and Williams 30.9. Most every 3-point shooter on UNC shoots better than the shooters on Duke, and we know what happened Saturday. Hopefully Virginia can get luckier tonight.
I like Virginia's chances to bounce back. This team is usually pretty resilient. But there are two issues: UNC is playing very well right now (aside from the Miami bump in the road, but UVa struggled against the Hurricanes, too), and chances are probably pretty good Virginia is going to be without Mamadi Diakite. Against a tall and athletic team like UNC, that could be a big problem. It's especially bad timing because it looked like he was own his way to a good game against Duke when his head collided with De'Andre Hunter's head.
For those two reasons, and with this game being in Chapel Hill, I'm going with the Tar Heels. Against almost any of the other ACC teams (except Duke of course), I think I'd pick Virginia in this situation. But winning down there is just a really tough ask after what happened two days ago plus possibly being down an important post player.
Gut feeling: North Carolina wins by 5-10 points.
The Cavaliers have no time to hang their heads after another tough loss to the Blue Devils because they have a tough road tilt tonight in Chapel Hill. Here's a look at streaking North Carolina, which has won seven straight games:
Scorers in double figures: Freshman guard Coby White (15.9), senior guard Cameron Johnson (15.8), senior forward Luke Maye (15.1), freshman forward Nassir Little (10.3)
Leading rebounders: Maye (9.7), sophomore forward Garrison Brooks (6), Johnson (5.5), Little (4.7), sophomore forward Sterling Manley (4.3)
Assist leaders: White (4.3), senior guard Kenny Williams (3.6)
Notable: Manley, who averages 4.4 points, has been out since late December with a sore knee, and it is unclear if he will return for this game, but probably not because he has not practiced and UNC's most recent game was Saturday, so this is a quick turnaround situation. Minus Manley, nine Tar Heels
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| Coby White is leading the Tar Heels in scoring as a 6-5 freshman guard. |
Best win: No. 4 Gonzaga at home, 103-90, in December. The Bulldogs are No. 4 and 23-2 and haven't lost since. Gonzaga also owns a win over Duke.
Worst win: It took the Heels overtime to beat Miami, 88-85, at home Saturday.
Other wins: Wofford, Elon, Stanford, Tennessee Tech, St. Francis (Pa.), UCLA, UNC Wilmington, Louisville, Davidson, Harvard, Pittsburgh, N.C. State (twice), Notre Dame, Miami (first matchup), Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech
Best loss: vs. No. 19 Kentucky, 80-72, in Chicago in December
Worst loss: Texas, 92-89, in November in Las Vegas. The Longhorns are 14-10.
Other losses: Louisville, Michigan
What North Carolina does well: Score and shoot. UNC averages 88.3 ppg (second) and shoots 47.4 percent overall (50th), 37.3 percent from beyond the arc (48th), and 75 percent from the line (tied, 33rd). The Tar Heels also average 19.9 assists (third), have a 1.40 assist-turnover ratio (21st), and own a +10.4 rebounds per game margin (second). They also average 7.8 steals per game (tied, 42nd).
What North Carolina doesn't do well: Defense has been an issue at times. UNC is giving up 73.6 ppg (237th) and allowing opponents to shoot 41.8 percent from the field (77th) but 33.7 percent on 3-pointers (144th). Those numbers are still decent, but UNC turns the ball over too much, 14.2 times per game (260th).
UNC struggled a bit early in the year in losing to Texas and getting blown out by Michigan, although the Wolverines were undefeated at the time. The Heels also own a 21-point home loss to Louisville, but they haven't lost since and avenged that defeat by beating the Cardinals last week by 10 on the road. North Carolina also struggled in wins over Wofford, Notre Dame, and Miami (twice).
Virginia has had an easier time with UNC than Duke since the Cavaliers' rise to the top of the ACC. Dating to the breakout 2013-14 season for the 'Hoos, they're 6-3 against the Heels and have won three straight, including 71-62 in last season's ACC tournament championship. Coach Roy Williams just doesn't seem to have the formula down or the athletic stars to confound Tony Bennett quite like Mike
A win over Duke would've been huge of course for Virginia, but even more so because of this tough turnaround. North Carolina played Saturday, too, so rest for the two teams is equal, but the Heels got to play against a much weaker opponent in Miami. The Wahoos probably expended a lot of energy in trying to rally against Duke. So now the specter of an 0-2 stretch against Tobacco Road opponents is a possibility. Virginia hasn't lost consecutive games since Feb. 18 and 20, 2017, at UNC and then vs. Miami. But UVa has had this same setup before: On Jan. 31 and Feb. 2, 2015, Virginia welcomed Duke for a "College GameDay" matchup and lost, 69-63. Two days later, Virginia traveled to Chapel Hill and beat No. 12 UNC, 75-64.
As I mentioned, UNC is shooting well on 3-pointers. Johnson, who at 6-foot-9 is tough to defend beyond the arc, leads the team in 3-point percentage at 47.2 percent. Woods is at 42.9 percent, White 38.8, Maye 33.7, and Williams 30.9. Most every 3-point shooter on UNC shoots better than the shooters on Duke, and we know what happened Saturday. Hopefully Virginia can get luckier tonight.
I like Virginia's chances to bounce back. This team is usually pretty resilient. But there are two issues: UNC is playing very well right now (aside from the Miami bump in the road, but UVa struggled against the Hurricanes, too), and chances are probably pretty good Virginia is going to be without Mamadi Diakite. Against a tall and athletic team like UNC, that could be a big problem. It's especially bad timing because it looked like he was own his way to a good game against Duke when his head collided with De'Andre Hunter's head.
For those two reasons, and with this game being in Chapel Hill, I'm going with the Tar Heels. Against almost any of the other ACC teams (except Duke of course), I think I'd pick Virginia in this situation. But winning down there is just a really tough ask after what happened two days ago plus possibly being down an important post player.
Gut feeling: North Carolina wins by 5-10 points.
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